Stranded
by Mama Avio
Summary: Natalia Arlovskaya and Mathias Anderson have both fallen overboard and are now stranded in a lifeboat with no means to survive. They're both certain that they'll die, but they aren't willing to go without trying. a collab DenBela two-shot with prologue C:
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Hetalia doesn't belong to either of us~**

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**Stranded**

**Prologue**

**Chilly, Avio Favalon**

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Natalia Arlovskaya was beginning to wonder if jumping in had been the greatest idea.

Or at least, trying to jump in. Seeing as how she'd found herself crashing into someone before she fell overboard. She'd forgotten that she couldn't swim very well. Which, in a raging storm like this, was a very bad thing.

All she had wanted was to get her hands on that _scarf. _That scarf that belonged to _him._ Her love. Her soul mate. Her brother. She remembered seeing the look of _broken_ on his face as the wind whipped it away from him and forced it into the ocean. There were tears inside just waiting to fall, and Natalia hadn't wanted that to happen at all in the least. Even if the rain would hide them, _she_ would still _know_ that it was there. So she did the most logical thing that came to her mind.

She ran after it.

She could remember hearing her siblings call out for her, her brother's gloved hands grasping for her only to miss and clutch onto the air behind her. She ran towards the edge, her only thought in her mind was to get it back, to make him happy, to stop the tears.

The deck was wet, predictably enough, and she lost control of her footing as she slid closer to the edge. She had failed to notice the large man who was now in her way, and she crashed into him.

In his attempt to steady himself and the girl who had just slammed into him, Mathias, too, lost his footing, and next thing anyone knew, both had fallen overboard.

Natalia really wondered if it had been a good idea to try to jump in.

_But that was Vanya's scarf he loves that scarf did you see the look in his eyes when the wind ripped it from his grasp?_

Things were so very blurred and her eyes and nose were stinging and she could feel a tightening in her lungs as little bubbles pushed themselves through her lips. She couldn't even see anything beyond darkness and bubbles, let alone the precious scarf.

This couldn't be how it ended. How would he get it back? How would he be happy without it? It meant so much to him.

Natalia could feel water rage down her throat, making its way to her lungs.

Fantastic.

What would she do now?

_Die, of course._

_But what about his scarf?_

_Vanya…_

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**A/N: explanations and authors' notes will be after the omake, kthx~**


	2. Part One

**Disclaimer: Neither Chilly nor Avio own Hetalia, kthx~**

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**Stranded **

**Part One**

**Chilly, Avio Favalon**

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_Vanya… Vanya…_

…_brother…_

Natalia naturally felt herself curl around her brother's chest, "Vanya, you saved me..?" She stated, although it was hard to speak with her lungs still feeling like they had been filled to the brim with water, "I knew you loved me…Vanya." She wrapped her hands in his scarf, even though it was wet, this was what let her know that this was her Vanya she was with currently, "Vanya..."

"Well it's my pleasure to have saved your life but I don't know who 'Vanya' is." Natalia felt her eyes burst open and she pulled away from the being that she once thought was her brother, and looked up to his face. His eyes weren't the usual emotional violet she was so used to looking at. They were instead a goofy, ridiculous blue shade that while they were extremely beautiful in the right light, they weren't Ivan's. They just weren't. His hair wasn't Ivan's either. Where Ivan's was sandy-blonde, this man's was blonde in the purest shade. Natalia wasn't sure she had ever seen hair so blonde.

And the more she looked at him, she suddenly came to realization… this was the man she had pushed over the edge of the boat. In fact, she could still hear his screaming in anger the more she looked at him. Why in the world did he get in her way, anyway? He should've known that NOTHING could've kept her from getting her Vanya's attention; he was merely just an obstacle anyway-

And what in the world was this obstacle doing wearing Ivan's scarf! Who did he think he was? To wear _his _scarf without so much as a second thought!

"You most certainly aren't Vanya. But I understand that you are trying to emulate him." She narrowed her eyes and glanced at the blonde haired boy again, "What is your name?" Her voice came out curt and harsh, despite the fact that she still felt dizzy from the water and almost drowning, and she still felt as though she were under the water.

"My name is Mathias…" Mathias said so very lightly, glancing with worry out in front of him, "Mathias Andersen. I'm glad to know you appreciate my saving of your life. I'm really glad to hear that you are happy I saved you. Really glad." Of course his tone irritated the shit of out Natalia. He wasn't her brother, and only her brother was allowed to speak to her in that way!

Pulling herself away from Mathias' chest suddenly, she snatched away her Vanya's scarf from Mathias' neck, still wondering why he was wearing it, and wrapped it around her own beyond wet neck, "Natalia. And yes. I'm glad you saved me and Vanya is glad too, "Now I demand you to get me back to the cruise liner, Mathias. Get me back to my Vanya this instant."

Mathias seemed to twitch uneasily a bit, before glancing back up to Natalia, "I don't know if you remember or not… but there was a storm last night… well… we kind of sort of got separated from the main boat after they tossed down this here lifeboat…I don't-"

"You don't _what!" _Her tone was icy and it filled Mathias with dread.

"I don't know where the others are!" Natalia didn't have the slightest idea what happened after she pushed him overboard did she? The storm waves drug her under… but Mathias managed to go swimming after her... he also managed to grab a hold of the scarf, and use it to pull her up out of the depths as well.

He had screamed out for help for what seemed like hours, trying not to kill both himself and Natalia in storm waves larger than he'd ever seen. It wasn't until a rather large sandy haired boy lowered a lifeboat towards them, that he was able to pull both himself and Natalia up into it. He tried to paddle towards the boat for a while, but his nerves took all of strength away, and he ended up blacking out… with the large cruise liner nowhere in sight. Sure it didn't seem so bad when he talked about it like that... but the salt water getting into his eyes, the constant waves, the rain, the lightening, the winds, and the fact that he was supporting a full grown woman in his arms… only made matters worse. "We are alone, okay?"

"A-alone?" She repeated quietly, stumbling back onto the other side of the boat, causing it to rock a little forcefully.

"H-hey, careful! You don't want to end up in the ocean again, do you?" Mathias asked, his loud voice making her ears twitch.

She didn't seem to be listening, hands resting on the scarf, her breathing shaky. "We are… away from everyone else? Away from Vanya?"

_But… how am I supposed to get this back to him? What will he do without it? It's what is most precious to him… and… how am I supposed to get back to him?_

"How are we to get back to them?" She asked, her voice quiet, eyes down at the scarf's end that she held in her hand, playing with the edge idly, hands trembling from the nippy wind that decided it wanted to blow.

"How am I supposed to know? Our best bet is probably… probably…" She had a point. What were they supposed to do now? Mathias sighed, a hand in his hair. It was like all that could be felt was wet. His usually sticky dry hair, was so wet that it fell in clumps over his eyes, the air was wet, the boat was wet, the water was wet, they were wet, their feet were wet. Heck. Mathias was wet in places that he didn't even think was real. Not only were they drenched... but they were cold as well. Wet and cold. Not a good combo.

He pulled his gaze towards the sun, willing it to be hotter, to dry them a little bit at the least. The storm had long since passed, leaving a relatively-calm ocean around them, making the lifeboat sway gently. The breeze caused a chill to run through the both of them.

Lost in the middle of the ocean. Fantastic. Who knew how far they were from any life of any sort? Any boats or ports?

"Hopefully… maybe they'll try to turn the boat around to get us?" He pondered aloud.

"Nyet, I do not think so… it is a cruise line. They lose money if they do not stay on course. They will probably send someone when they reach land next. Which will probably be a few days, possibly longer."

So… he was stuck with this girl… in the middle of the ocean… for several days? Maybe longer? Maybe forever?

She didn't look at all happy about it. She had a lost look in her eyes as she clutched the scarf, leaning against the side of the lifeboat. "It will be a long time before we are saved. We will simply have to survive until then. Hopefully we will come to land soon enough," she stated, looking out at the waves. Which way had the large ship even gone?

Oh, she couldn't even think properly. Really, all she wanted to do at that moment was just _cry_. She wasn't about to do that, though. Not in front of a man she'd never seen before, especially after he had gotten in her way and then saved her life. Sighing, she brought her knees up to her chin. She would just have to keep it in, then... at least for as long as she could.

Mathias was extremely lucky he had grown up around boats, and that he pretty much knew that he wouldn't ever get seasick, but he did find himself uncomfortable around this new chick. The way she talked to him, the way she stared at him… sure, she was beautiful, but she was pretty scary as well. The way she glared at him…caused his nerves to crawl. But sitting there… at the edge of the boat she did look rather pathetic…and he knew that she wasn't the type to ever look pathetic of her own accord.

Honestly, he wanted to crawl over to her, and hold her away from all danger she may have to endure ever. To be away from danger though, would mean that they'd both have to be free of the boat… which wasn't an option currently,

"W-what are we going to drink?" Mathias said quietly, "We c-can't drink the ocean water…"

The girl didn't bother to answer, choosing instead to continue staring at the end of the scarf she'd wrapped around her neck. In fact, anything Mathias tried to ask her, ended only with her shrugging him off a bit and muttering something about her "Vanya." Mathias could honestly say he was beginning to hate this Vanya person. What was so special about him? He wasn't the one who was stuck in the middle of the ocean in a boat worrying over where in the world they were going to get their next meal.

And this how it continued until the night… Mathias staring hopelessly at the water, and Natalia staring at the scarf…until a loud rumbling from his stomach suddenly signaled the hunger he had been ignoring since they'd gotten onto the boat and into their little predicament.

"Man I could sure go for something to eat… how about you?" Mathias stood up slowly, still not removing his glare from the waters, "How does a fish sound?"

Yeah... that's right! A fish sounded delicious… in fact it sounded real delicious right about now. But the longer her stared at the water, the more he realized… the more he realized that he had no idea how to catch a fish a fish with his bare hands. The two literally had nothing… nothing but a single wooden paddle and a small boat… they also had a scarf but yeah… how was that supposed to help them?

"A fish sounds good. But I do not see you developing any bare fisted fishing skills anytime soon." The sound of her voice caused Mathias to glance up. She had moved from her position a bit, but was still focused at her "Vanya's" scarf, "Luckily for you. I carry around a knife."

"Why do you carry around a knife? That's just freaky." Mathias laughed uneasily, only to have her stare at him intensely. Oh well… guess it was better than staring at the scarf... right?

"I carry around a knife to protect brother." Her voice was distant, and it caused him to shiver a bit. Seriously, this obsession with her brother…it was creepy. He was probably perfectly capable of protecting himself.

And Mathias wasted no time in voicing his opinion, "I'm sure your brother can care for himself, Natalia! I bet he's not a pussy."

_A __**pussy**__! How dare he call Ivan a pussy! Who the hell does he think he is! _

Natalia narrowed her eyes at the boy and held her hand out steadily in front of her, "Don't you ever say that about Vanya again!"

"Say what! That I'm sure he's not a pussy! Unless he _is _one? Cause I wouldn't doubt it with a girl like you around all the time!" He clenched his fists together and he could feel his nerves seething underneath his skin.

But she could feel her nerves as well, but unlike him… she had a weapon. She had a weapon she intended on using. That she would use! She reached slowly into her sleeve and whipped out the knife and wasted absolutely no time in tossing it directly towards Mathias' head… She'd have food now wouldn't sh—It was too bad Mathias was quicker than he looked though, and he dodged the knife rather skillfully. Which then meant that the knife sailed past his head, and the edge of the boat… directly into the water… and down to the bottom of the ocean.

"Did you- did you just throw a knife… A KNIFE! At my head! Our only hope of getting food is now sunken at the bottom of the ocean _rotting_!"

"Hmpf." Her snooty grunt and plopping back into her spot on the bench caused Mathias to take a deep breath of salty ocean air and move back to thinking about a way to catch the food. Without her. He didn't need her! And for now… bare fisted fishing was his best bet.

So he slammed his fist into the water… and waited while Natalia took the same spot as before, staring at her feet and moving her hands up and down the soft and damp fabric of the scarf once again.

Mathias listened idly to the waves, and waited some more…

…and he waited some more…

…and he waited….

….and he waited…

…and he _waited…_

In fact he waited so long that he ended up falling asleep with his now balled up fist floating rather sadly beside the boat. Natalia, who had started getting a bit sleepy herself, had hardly noticed how long Mathias had had his hand in there until she noticed that he was asleep. Shit. When on earth had he fallen asleep?

…_Poor guy_… watching this pathetic display only made her feel bad for tossing a knife at his head earlier… she rubbed at her eyes a bit before moving towards him and pulling his hand from the water and looking at it. Yes, of course it was severely pruned, and was actually popping open in certain areas… Shit, maybe it was a good thing he hadn't started bleeding yet… really… she then pulled his hand onto her blouse and tried her best to dry it…only to have it blister open some more. Maybe it would be best to just let that one heal on its own. She placed his hand into his lap, and sighed, before she took up the other side of the boat… and slunk her own hand into the water.

_Cold fucking cold liquid ice this is cold-_

_Fish. Food. Nourishment._

_Coldcoldcoldcoldcold_

_Food._

_Cold._

Her hand was burning from the cold; how had Mathias been able to stand it? Let alone fall asleep with his hand in it? It was no wonder it was so blistered, what with the temperature and the salt and whatever the fuck else was in there…

Natalia sighed, withdrawing her hand from the ice water. It was only going to grow colder from here; night was falling and they were still soaked to the bone. The night would not be a comfortable one, Natalia could already tell. Even if the man beside her was sleeping without a care in the world. He hadn't even noticed falling unconscious.

_How worrisome it must be for his family. If he can do such an idiotic thing as that, what other kind of trouble does he get into? Surely, he is a fool._

Still, her eyes fell onto the hand in her lap and she bit her lip. _It's really bad, isn't it? _

Again, she picked it up, gingerly so as not to disturb it, and sighed. _This is going to hurt like a bitch when he wakes up in the morning,_ she said, gently stroking it absentmindedly. What was she supposed to do? She didn't have any medical supplies or _anything_, really. She placed it back onto her lap carefully, watching him to make sure she didn't disturb him.

The breeze picked up again, and a chill went through her. She wrapped her arms around herself in a vain attempt to get rid of the cold and lay back, careful not to shift Mathias' hand. Fuck, she hoped she wouldn't get pneumonia. She closed her eyes, sighing, trying to relax and find comfort and warmth in the lifeboat.

How were they going to survive long enough for a ship to come save them? Would she ever see her Vanya again? What about Mathias? Did he have a family? Did they miss him? Yes, certainly they must, just as she was sure that Vanya and Katya missed her. Katya was probably crying nonstop, and Vanya probably tried to pass it off with a smile. She wondered vaguely if the ship had run out of vodka yet. It wasn't unlikely; Vanya tended to drink a lot when the mood took him.

uddenly her face was wet... She wasn't crying. She couldn't be crying. The very idea of her crying was preposterous.

_However, he is sleeping now… perhaps now… now would be okay…?_

She let it go, her right arm over her eyes and her left hand clamped over her mouth. Her body trembled from the cold and from her silent, heaving sobs. The only comfort she had at all was wrapped around her neck, and the most it did was make her think of her brother, which only led to more crying.

It was like that that Natalia Arlovskaya fell asleep, body aching for warmth and food, heart aching for her precious family, mind aching for solutions and safety. She was aching all over, it seemed.

She dreamt of warm fireplaces, warm smiles, and her brother's warm embrace.

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**A/N: soum. There's a huge explanation for this and everything, but that'll be posted in its own chapter after the omake. :'D**


	3. Part Two

**Disclaimer: ladida~ Hetalia~ not ours~**

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**Stranded**

**Part Two**

**Chilly, Avio Favalon**

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There was a multitude of things that Mathias Anderson was not expecting upon his waking up. One of them was being on a lifeboat. Of course, he had forgotten that he'd fallen overboard with a potentially homicidal young woman with an obsession with her brother "Vanya." Two was the immense, blistering pain that seemed to be swallowing up his hand. Three was that said hand resting on the lap of the potentially-homicidal young woman.

Four was how… how unexpectedly cute she looked when she was asleep.

_Really, if she wasn't so scary, she would be so much prettier than she is alr-_

His train of thought was interrupted by a completely involuntary cry of pain. Shit, his hand fucking _hurt_ so much worse now that his mind was slowly waking up more and was all the more aware of the _pain._

His cry woke up the sleeping potentially-homicidal young woman. Her eyes opened slowly, nearly blinded by the sun above her, and she gave a groan in irritation. "What in god's name is your problem?"

"Well, my fucking hand really _hurts,_ for starters!" He snapped back, clutching his hand in the other carefully.

Natalia's angry expression fell a fraction. "A-ah, da, you… left your hand in the water when you fell asleep… there was nothing I could do to help you at the time… I… I apologize…" She said quietly, glancing down at the hand. "I tried to catch something myself, but it was late and cold and..." she left the other apology unspoken. Her pride could only take so much, and she could already feel the small flush on her cheeks from even uttering the words.

_At least some part of me is warm._ The thought was short, somewhat grim, and a little bitter, even.

"It's…it's okay that you couldn't do anything… I couldn't either. I never realized how h-hard fish were to catch!" He scratched the back of his head, which was covered in a thick layer of sticky salt, "It kind of stinks being trapped on this boat doesn't it?"

Natalia blinked over at him. He was most certainly a foolish idiot. Wasn't it becoming increasingly obvious that if they weren't rescued soon they were going to die? He didn't seem worried about dying… almost at all. Or maybe he was just doing a good job of hiding it.

…or maybe he wasn't…because suddenly, she found that he was sitting in his usual spot, with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around his knees…and like she had done earlier (or not done) … he was sobbing. Pretty loudly too, she might've added.

And his sobbing only made her want to sob as well.

"D-Do you think we are gonna die! I can't die! I have a little cousin to take care of! And-and my brothers!" He shook his head in his arms, "And my big brother… we fi-fight a lot and I-I act stupid a lot and piss him off for fun but-but I still l-love him! I don't mean- mean to fight with him—it's just that s-sometimes I can't help it and-"

His words were cut short when Natalia leaned forward a bit and uncharacteristically wrapped her arms completely around him, "I have a family too… whom I miss dearly." She couldn't tell him that everything was going to be alright and that they would see their families soon, because to tell the truth, she wasn't entirely sure herself…In her mind there was a higher chance of them dying them being saved, and she didn't mean to seem pessimistic, but she actually just saw herself as more realistic than anything. Why get all worked up about being rescued when chances were slim? Heck, they were smack in the middle of the ocean, they hadn't seen a single boat the whole time. Not even a small one. They had no supplies… and this was the morning of their third day… and they hadn't eaten at all… So the best Natalia could do for Mathias at the moment was comfort him. Not that she'd ever been a great comforter… but she did know Mathias' feelings. His want for his family… after all… she missed her Vanya more than she could even bear to think. Natalia blinked over at him. He was most certainly a foolish idiot. Wasn't it becoming increasingly obvious that if they weren't rescued soon they were going to die? He didn't seem worried about dying… almost at all. Or maybe he was just doing a good job of hiding it.

"We are going to die, aren't we, Natalia?" He quiet, hoarse voice gripped at her heartstrings.

"D-da… I think we are Mathias…" She suddenly felt him grip a hold of the front of her dress, "But… we will do our best to stop that from happening. We will try to find land or something…" She wasn't going to die without trying first. That just wouldn't be fair. She decided that she was going to come up with a plan. They were not going to be sleeping at the same time. They just couldn't do that. If they did it would mean that they would miss anything that may have come and could've helped. She also decided that if they ever felt like they were in an area with a large abundance of edible fish, they would both do their best to catch one. And if they were both awake they would use anything they could to find help.

She relayed her simple, yet hopefully effective plan to Mathias, (still holding onto him, of course, and not really realizing how comforting his grips on her actually were for both of them.) and he nodded. He was up for it. How could he not be? It was their only chance to survive this horrible accident… the only hope they had...

~o~

So the plan went on like this for three more nights…with no luck of finding food at all, or help or anything of the sort. They only thing that had keep the two from being completely dehydrated was the fact that it rained once in the middle of the night, and a large portion of it had gathered in a puddle at the bottom of the boat, and they were doing everything they could to keep that from evaporating… not that it was working all that well…

The water, while it quenched their thirst, was doing absolutely nothing to keep her hunger away. In fact, she was getting to the point where she was so hungry, that the currently sleeping Mathias, who was resting peacefully in her lap, was beginning to look like a good meal…

Oh what was she thinking! She couldn't eat Mathias… she was much too attached to the air-headed boy to eat him now… but they were both dying without any food. And she knew it… they were dying slowly. And while they were probably going to die either way, she…she wanted to survive… she really did. If only to be with her Vanya-…she glanced at her scarf…then back to Mathias.

…She used to live only for Vanya… heck, she used to live so much for her brother that she knew if anything happened to him, she too would throw herself off of a bridge just to be with him. But now.. now that she had relied on Mathias' help to keep her alive, and he had relied on hers, she wondered if she really needed her Vanya as much as she had once thought she did.

Right now she needed Mathias (even though the bum was sleeping).

She didn't need Vanya. Unless he was coming with a boat to save them, she didn't need him at all.

She didn't need his scarf…

Or did she need his scarf? Maybe it could be useful as a net.. YES! She could use it as a net!

Pulling the thing away from her neck, careful not to disturb the sleeping Mathias too much, she knotted it as best as she could into the shape of a net, and tossed it into the water.

…But of course things weren't going her way, and soon, her makeshift net became much too heavy for her. The waterlogged-ness of it and the exhaustion she felt in her entire body soon allowed for the strange handmade net to slip from her grip, and float out into the open ocean, far, far away from their little boat.

She didn't even know what she was thinking… a scarf net! Was this the end for them both? Were they ever going to get some food? Was this finally the motherfucking end?

She let out a small cry, collapsing on the side of the boat, arms still in the water and grasping at the ghost of the scarf desperately. She lifted her head just barely, tears starting to form, as she watched it drift away.

That was her last connection to her brother and their last chance for food.

She cried. Certainly she was allowed this small moment of weakness? This feeling of hopelessness? She had always prided herself in being a strong young woman who knew how to take anything, but right now, she felt so much uncertainty and loss and _hopelessness._

She hadn't tried to quiet herself this time, having momentarily forgotten she wasn't alone. Therefore, she wasn't aware that her crying was actually heard this time. Mathias stirred on her lap, eyes cracking open and looking up at her groggily. It took him a moment to realize that she was crying, but when he did, he shakily sat up and pulled her into his arms.

At this point, she was far too weak and upset to fight it. She simply allowed herself to be held by the Dane, even going as far as clinging to him. They sat like that a while, how long exactly, neither were certain. It was long enough for Natalia to have her cry and eventually calm down. Neither really cared, either. It was nice to be warm for once. It was nice to be cared about and depended on. It was nice not to be alone.

Natalia had fallen asleep, Mathias' arms still around her.

He decided that he didn't like to see her cry. He decided that he _did,_ however, like having her in his arms, and he _really _liked her clinging to him. He also _really_ liked her sleeping while pressed against him.

He gave a sigh and leaned back against the boat, careful not to rouse the sleeping woman in his arms, his hand stroking her wet, stringy hair absentmindedly, barely registering the rough touch. His other hand hurt, but he kept it pressed against her back.

That night, Natalia dreamt of warmth, as she usually did though her brother did not seem anywhere near. There was someone else instead, though she hadn't been able to tell who.

~o~

Natalia had awoken as the sun was rising. Mathias had been dozing, but opened his eyes when he felt her shift slightly. He cracked a grin when she sighed softly, saying to her in a strained, parched voice, "Morning, sleepyhead. I hope you were able to sleep well, regardless of the circumstances?'

"D-da… I did…" she responded quietly, rubbing at her eye gently, then looking up at him, light blue-violet eyes looking into bright blue…

It wasn't the first time in the past few days time he'd wanted to kiss her. It certainly wasn't the first time he caught himself thinking about how beautiful she was.

They both knew that they were going to die, though neither of them were willing to do so without a fight. He could see it in her eyes right now; Natalia Arlovskaya was not the sort of woman to give up so easily, even if she knew the outcome was against her. Hell, he certainly wasn't the kind of person to give up. He was far too stubborn and pigheaded for that.

Their strong wills aside, they still knew that they were going to die. That didn't matter to them, though. They were still alive _now,_ and hopefully they would be for a few more days.

With this in mind, their lips met in a desperate kiss, fingers weakly clinging onto clothes and bodies pressed together as much as their dwindling strength would allow. It was warm and comforting and their hearts pounded quickly in their chests, their hunger momentarily forgotten, their minds too distracted with one another to even think about it. At that moment, this was all that mattered. They were touching, their lips were touching, and they weren't alone.

Ivan was the farthest thing from Natalia's mind as she gently nipped at Mathias' bottom lip, pulling it between her own and feeling the soft (even if a little chapped) flesh, releasing it oh-so-slowly. Mathias couldn't help but grin as he tried to pull her closer, reuniting their lips in another kiss.

Yes, they knew that they would die soon. So they enjoyed what would probably be the last kiss they would ever have.

~o~

Just a day, maybe a little bit longer, after that kiss, they could barely move anymore. Their strength had nearly completely abandoned them. Mathias was laying full out on his back in the boat, Natalia nestled into his arms.

_Warm. Safe. Alive for now. Death will come soon, but right now, it is warm and safe._

They were out of water. Their throats were almost too dry to speak. They could both feel death coming for them, even if slowly.

"M-Mathias… thank… thank y-" Natalia wanted to thank him for saving her, for helping her survive, for loving her, even if it wasn't the truest of loves, but she was cut off.

"Sh-shh… Nata… lia… d-don't…" Mathias protested as best as he could; Natalia needed all the strength she could get. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want her to die yet. He hoped they would die together, so _neither _would have to be alone.

He tried to smile, his lips cracking painfully. _Even like this, she's really something. It's too bad we couldn't have met in different circumstances. That probably… would have been cool…_

…_really…cool…_

Mathias felt the sun blaring sun begin to fade from his vision as his eyes fell shut and darkness fell upon his cold aching body. He could no longer stay awake. The blistered hand that he had left inside of the water so long had only gotten worse, and his body was severely sunburned and crackling. People weren't meant to be trapped on the ocean… they just weren't. Especially not without food. Oh how Mathias would've KILLED for a steak right now. A big juicy steak with…

"Heyyyy!"

"Na-na-talia you shouldn't waste…ener..gy."

"That- wasn't—"

"Hey! There are people in that boat! They look bad, but they are moving! You think they might be from that one cruise liner? Those two people that went missing a week or so ago?" That definitely wasn't Natalia. Definitely not. Natalia didn't speak so informally nor with a strange thick fisherman's accent… if fisherman even had accents.

"I'm not sure, buddy, but you need to reel them in before they do die!"

"Haha, just wait until boss hears this. Biggest fish we've caught in a long time." Laughter, the sound of movement.

It was only a moment later when Mathias felt Natalia being pulled away from him, "No… no don't hurt her…" Mathias mumbled reaching out towards nothing. He couldn't even bear to peel his eyes open because it required too much energy and it burned his eyes when he opened them too far.

But soon, he, too, was being pulled out of the boat by a pair of hands much stronger than his own, and into the warm air of a heated cabin. "Wh-where?" He mumbled, feeling limp, heavy.

"Welcome aboard _The Mermaid_, mister!" The voice was cheerful, gruff, strong. "She's a little fancier than most fishing boats, almost too fancy for my taste, but you'll definitely be comfortable."

"You two are lucky; lunch should be served here soon enough," the other voice said.

It wasn't even two minutes before the smell of something cooking filled his nostrils. He then gripped a hold of the man who was carrying him excitedly, (which wasn't all that strong of a grip..) which caused the man to let out a laugh, "I think this guy is hungry!"

"Well, feed him, then!"

The excitement of being found must've been too much for Mathias to handle, because he ended up passing out as soon as they set him at a table, the strong arms still holding him up.

~o~

Sooner or later though, Mathias woke up to an extremely warm bath. Warm water had never, ever felt better on his skin. But either way, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to leave the bath. He felt so warm and refreshed… but he found that his stomach still weighed a million pounds. He still hadn't eaten since being rescued, and as much as he wanted to stay in the bath, he didn't have the energy to stay in long. And he was about to step out of the bathtub when suddenly Natalia poked her head in, holding a robe in her arms.

She then pulled into the bathroom completely, and slipped the robe over him.

"You haven't eaten. You got so excited when you saw the food that you fainted when they put you at the table…" He noticed a glimmer of playfulness in her eyes as she pulled the robe together and tied it before reaching for the bandages she had placed on the sink. Moving quickly she bandaged up his hand, before slipping underneath his arm to support him. She then lead him back to the table where the food was, wanting to make sure that he didn't faint when he saw that rather succulent lobster they had prepared for them.

She also didn't want to leave him because if something happened, she couldn't bear it. Not alone… She needed to be with him to keep him (and herself, in a way) safe.

She could feel her energy returning more as she watched the boy eat, and even though his desperate eating wasn't exactly the most attractive thing in the world, seeing him fill so quickly with energy just by being around something as simple as food was very attractive… and Natalia could honestly say that the thought of being without him sort of made her anxious.

Once Mathias finished eating, he pulled himself upwards from the table, and smiled at Natalia, before grabbing a hold of her wrist and pulling her over to a couch they could sit on. Of course he sat close to her, placing his hand on her knee.

"Are we dead?" He asked rather quietly to her, "Did we die?"

She blinked over at him, before a gentle smile wore over her sun burned face, "D-Da… we are dead and in heaven now." She placed her hand on his cheek, and he leaned into it, placing his own hand over hers.

"You are in my heaven, then?" He, too, smiled warmly towards her, "I don't know whether to be scared or happy…"

"You are happy Mathias." She leaned forward and placed her lips to his warm cheek, "You are really happy…"

He grinned, turning to face her, lips meeting hers. The kiss was short, sweet, relieved. Hands gently, carefully cupped cheeks for the brief moment it lasted, the two of them pulling away slowly.

"S-so, um, this…?" Mathias asked, looking into her eyes. "When we get back… what will happen? Will we still be…? Or is this one of those… it wont last…? A-and what about our families?"

Natalia pursed her lips, thinking about what may happen. They would probably go home with their families; how could they stay together? However, the thought of not being near him, after the past two weeks, frightened her. She had gotten too used to the comfort of being close to him, almost always touching, like a security blanket. _Just like Vanya's scarf b-before… _

"I… do not know. I do not think it matters. Not right now. I just know that I do not want to be away from you. I am far too used to your presence, as obnoxious as it is." She smirked, gently touching his face so as not to irritate the burn. She leaned in close for another kiss. "We will figure those things out upon our arrival home, da?"

He smiled, meeting the kiss eagerly. "I guess that works."

Mathias figured she had been right: he was _really_ happy.

* * *

**A/N: ~*~Authors' notes will be after the omake, kthx~*~**


	4. Omake: Reunion

**Disclaimer: As said before, neither Chilly nor myself own a single part of Hetalia. Derp.**

* * *

**Stranded**

**~*~Omake: Reunion~*~**

**Chilly, Avio Favalon**

* * *

They were limply holding each others hands as they walked down the docks, both of them with pounding hearts at seeing their families again. Both had missed them, and were willing to part for their reunions.

It was Natalia's family they saw first as her oldest sister had run forward, tears in her eyes, and enveloped her in a tight hug, crying out to her in both Russian and Ukrainian, repeating her name as often as possible. Her older brother had come just behind her, a genuine smile on his face and a relieved light in his eyes.

Natalia looked up at him, becoming teary-eyed herself. "V-Vanya, I apologize! I-I tried to get it… and then I had it… and then… I-I… I lo-lost-"

The tall Russian man pulled her into a hug as well, holding her tightly. "Do not worry about it, Natalia. That does not matter to me, da."

She smiled, nuzzling into her older siblings.

Mathias smiled weakly, turning his attention to the group coming his way at that moment. His own family. Standing at the lead was of course his brother… Berwald. Berwald who of course was always just a little bit taller than him…and was just a total frigging obnoxious geek who wore such—oh what was Mathias saying? He was so happy to see his annoying brother than he even cared to think about…even if he did bring his wife boyfriend thing with him. But he was even more happy to see his nephew Peter and his younger brothers Lukas and Fjalar. He dashed over to them, and to stop himself from crying as well, he immediately began to spat out random blubberings about nothing.

"How was the rest of the cruise I hope it wasn't too bad without me! I can't say I had a very fun time but I met a really cool girl and she's standing over the—"A well placed hand on his shoulder caused his rambling to stop, and he glanced over to see who it was. Berwald had a firm grip upon his shoulder, and a serious look in his eye.

"We m'ssed ya." He said, glancing around awkwardly, as if the words were hard for him to get out. Not that Berwald had ever really been good with words in the first place. In fact, that was usually why the brothers didn't get along in the first place. Because of Mathias' frustration as his lack of talking.

But who cared about that right now! He wasn't dead! He'd managed to survive! He'd done it! Well… he hadn't done it alone…he glanced over at Natalia a moment before his whole family tugged him into an embrace, and once again, he was crying.

It seemed everyone was crying, but who could blame them, really? It had been two weeks. Two long, torturous weeks in which two people were struggling for survival and their families were clamped in a constant state of worry, fear, and hopelessness.

Now, however, it seemed so far away, like a lost dream. Almost like it never happened, but it did. It had to, because the two felt this irrational need to always be within each others vicinity.

So it had definitely happened, and as torturous as it had been, neither could say they really regretted it. Certainly, it would have been nice if Natalia hadn't tried to catch that scarf, especially since it was gone again anyways. However, as they made their way to the hotel where rooms had been provided for them, with interlocking fingers, they didn't feel all that regretful.

And what Natalia had said before about what happening in the future not mattering was completely true. So what if whatever-the-fuck it was that they had didn't last too long? They had it _now_, and _that_ is what mattered.

If only just to prove this, Mathias suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her close for a kiss and ignoring the well-disguised glare her brother was giving him.

Yes, _this_ is all that mattered.

* * *

**aand the Authors' Notes will be coming up right after this. C:**


	5. Authors' Notes

**~*~****Authors****' ****Notes****~*~**

**Avio: **hello everyone! :'D um. So. An explanation to this. This DenBela we have here. Um. So. Justrealquick. I have challenged myself to write a one-shot for _every_ canon Hetalia pairing. Exceptions are pedophilia and characters that aren't as well-developed. orz I figured it only makes sense to start with Belarus pairings, since she is the easiest for me to write. /lazy

Butum. After asking some of my roleplay friends their advice as to which pairing to start with, darling Chilly here suggested DenBela, since she and I have them in an interesting friendship where we roleplay. :'D and then, I ended up sending her the prologue and she started plotting, so we figured we'd collaborate. [I'd put a heart here if wasn't a douche about them. orz] so here we are! We're both rather proud and fond of this story, really, and we hope you guys enjoyed it, too. Sob.

Also I have come to realize I rather like this pairing. -shot- whatelseisnew. OTL

God I whore Nata out like nobody's business don't I. fkdsfjkdslfj

By the way. I'm sure you noticed but this is most definitely not a one-shot. Weum. We got a little carried away. but that's okay because I'm happy with it and I guess two-shots are just fine for the challenge, along with collabs, so, so. :'D

**Chilly: **Chilly: Hi gaiz. No one on knows me probably 'cause I'm some uber mysterious Chilly person. Okay so I'm not all the mysterious, but it's nice to meet you and I hope you enjoyed the story.

Also. A lot of this was written while I was on vacation and sick. So I was writing my parts of this in hotels, on notebook pads in cars, at my gramma's house, and all over the place. Heck, I hated having to wait so long just to continue this thing.. but I'm so glad we managed to get it done as quickly as we did..

That is all.


End file.
